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Winnipeg Business Mystified by Ban on Insect Repellent

August 12, 2015 11:04 AM | News


Louise May

Louise May of Aurora Farm with bottles of the now-discontinued Manitoba Mist. (HANDOUT)

Health Canada has swatted plans for a small Winnipeg business to continue selling its insect repellent product.

Aurora Farm on Waverley Street says the federal government has forced it to discontinue production and sales of its bug spray.

“Manitoba Mist has been an excellent product to complement our other natural care products and contributed a significant revenue stream. It’s unfair for Health Canada to make its registration process so lengthy and expensive,” said Louise May of Aurora Farm.

May says the process to register a pesticide would cost up to $180,000. The initial PMRA (Pest Management Regulatory Agency) pre-submission consultation request can take up to 16 weeks.

May says the product is an alternative to families who don’t want to use DEET-based products. She plans to post the recipe and ingredients online for others to make their own batch of the spray.